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The Bahá'í Faith

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The sentence above is one of the most well-known sayings of Bahá'u'lláh and it reflects succinctly the essence of his teachings.

Bahá'u'lláh, the prophet founder of the Bahá'í Faith, which began in 1844 in Persia (now Iran), proclaimed that he was the Messenger of God for our age. His teachings are a direct continuation of the messages of former Manifestations, among whom were Krishna, Zoroaster, the Buddha, Moses, Jesus Christ and Muhammad. These Manifestations foretold a bright future of justice and unity on earth. Bahá'u'lláh teaches that this age has now begun, when all the nations of earth will unite in peace and belong to one common Faith.

An Ever-Advancing Civilization

Bahá'u'lláh teaches that God is one and all religions are from Him. God has, from time immemorial, sent His Messengers who have applied their teachings to the needs and circumstances of the societies in which they appeared.

Universal compulsary education is one of the basic Bahá'í teachings

Among the basic teachings of the Bahá'í Faith are the equality of men and women, the elimination of all kinds of prejudice, the harmony of science and religion, universal compulsory education, the implementation of an international auxiliary language, the protection and preservation of nature and the promotion of unity and brotherhood through constructive consultation. These teachings where set forth by Bahá'u'lláh more than 150 years ago.

Bahá'u'lláh said, “All men have been created to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization.” To be a Bahá'í means to love the whole world, serve mankind and work for peace and justice.

The Second Most Widespread Religion in the World

The Bahá'í Faith is an independant faith, with its own sacred writings, houses of worship, administration and calendar. The writings of Bahá'u'lláh have been translated into more than 800 languages.

No faith is as geographically widespread as the Bahá'í Faith, except Christianity. Today Bahá'ís are about six million and live in more than 200 countries. The community is a cross section of humanity. People from more than 2100 nationalities, ethnicities and tribes belong to a world community that extends to the furthermost corners of the globe. It is perhaps the most diverse organized community on earth.

A United Community

The Bahá'í Faith has some unique features. It has managed to remain undivided, not splitting into sects. It does not have priests, pastors or elders but is organized by governing councils known as spiritual assemblies that are democratically elected, at the international, national and local level. The international governing council of the Faith, the Universal House of Justice, has its seat in Haifa, Israel.

Further information about the Bahá'í Faith in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Russian, Hindi, Arabic and Persian can be found at www.bahai.org

The Icelandic Bahá’í Summer School 2019 will be held at Reykjaskóla in Hrútafjörður from 19-23 June. Reykjaskóli is about 115 km north of Reykjavík. This year's main speaker will be Jóhanna Jochumsdóttir whose sessions will revolve around capcity building of individuals and communities. Further information.